When Wayne Rooney leads England out at Wembley for the Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia on Saturday the former Everton FC youngster will be making his 100th cap for the Three Lions.

Rooney's career has followed an upward curve ever since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with a couple of goals against Wrexham and that goal against Arsenal in 2002. Rooney upset Evertonians when he moved to Manchester United for a then world-record fee for a teenager in 2004 but has gone on to score over 200 goals for the club.

Things turned out so much differently for Francis Jeffers, another former Everton youngster who once seemingly had the world at his feet. The "Fox in the Box" recorded shockingly similar statistics as Rooney during his time at Everton, both men also came from Croxteth and attended the same school, De La Salle.

Jeffers also burst onto the scene as a 16 year old and even scored more goals for the Blues than Rooney. He also upset fans when he moved to Arsenal in 2001.

But Jeffers, now 33, only managed to make one international appearance - the same night that Rooney made his debut, and he recently admitted that his career went in a completely different trajectory after the to the Gunners.

He said: "I should have been better. I shouldn’t have ended up with one England cap and 250 career appearances, but injuries played a part.

“You have to remember that before Wayne came on the scene I had gone to Arsenal. As time has gone on people have said, ‘Look what could have happened, but look what did happen.’ People see it as a cautionary tale. Myself and Wayne are different ages and [by 2003] I had already gone to Arsenal and was making a career for myself.”

Jeffers is now back at Everton working at the academy as Rooney prepares to make that landmark appearance for his country.